NBA Season Preview 2012 – 2013 Orlando Magic

The Dwightmare is over. Unfortunately it will give Magic fans a hangover for the next couple of years at least. Dwight Howard’s back injury killed their playoff chances last year and the Magic decided to hit the reset button and traded Howard even though dumpsoon.com he exercised his one year player option. The problem is that the Magic somehow sold low for the second or third best player in the league. The Magic also fired Stan Van Gundy who is only one of the best coaches in the league. The Orlando Magic are a collection of starters miscast as first options (Aaron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, Glen Davis), old role players (Hedo Turkoglu and Al Harrington) and young players who do not seem to have high ceilings (Nikola Vucevic, Moe Harkless, Andrew Nicholson). This could be a historically bad team that does not have any consistent offensive threats and only one proven defensive stopper in Afflalo. The new Magic brain trust has two challenges. New coach Jacques Vaughn has to institute a system that keeps the veterans happy with their minutes while still developing the youngsters all under the shadow of a losing season and the possibility that anyone on this roster could dumpsoon be traded at any time. New GM Rob Hennigan has to try and amass more assets by trading some veterans. The payroll is high due to Gilbert Arenas amnesty. The light at the end of the tunnel for Magic fans hopefully will be a high lottery pick which has helped Cleveland and New Orleans look to the future after their team’s megastar left town. 2011-12 Record: 37-29, 6th in East Key additions:Arron Afflalo, Gustavo Ayon, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, Josh McRobertsKey Losses:Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon, Earl ClarkPayroll: $75.1 Million – 5th in the NBA Thanks for reading!

Jeff Lingard

A Chartered Accountant living in Peterborough, Ontario, Jeff writes for a variety of websites about different sports but has focused on his favourite league, the NBA, here at Sportstok.ca. Jeff cheers for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Browns and Indians and the Florida Panthers